


On the Great Fire of London

by rytan451



Series: Essays and Documents on the Magical World [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate History, False Document, Great Fire of London, History of Magic, Obscurial, Statute of Secrecy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 05:30:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10633218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rytan451/pseuds/rytan451
Summary: An essay written by a student at Hogwarts for his History of Magic class, on the topic of the Great Fire of London, its causes, and the political backlash resulting from it.  Retrieved as part of an analysis of the Magical World.





	

The Great Fire of London was started when a young magical child was inadvertently burnt by the oven in a bakery. In response, accidental magic repulsed the coals, some of which landed unnoticed nearby. This caused the bakery itself to burn down and started what would become the Great Fire of London.

In itself, the fire in the bakery would not have progressed far enough; Muggle firefighters were moderately-well versed in preventing the spread of conflagrations. However, unluckily enough, the flames managed to trap another young magical child. This child was host to an Obscurus, which was itself the result of the internalization of anti-magic bigotism in a magical child, psychological or physical abuse targeted at preventing accidental magic, and conscious attempts on the part of the host (or Obscurial) to prevent the occurrence of accidental magic. The emotional stress on this Obscurial was sufficient to release the Obscurus. The Obscurus proceeded to attack the fire, an action which success is obvious. The Obscurus's actions were counterproductive, as they only served to spread the fire. The subsequent attempts to escape the flames further spread the flames. Without the presence of the Obscurial, the Great Fire of London would not have become such a major calamity, perhaps only striking the bakery and but a few other neighbors.

There have been claims of having spotted animal forms in the flames, an indication of Fiendfyre, but such claims are sparse and come from unreliable sources; as such, most historians dismiss the rumours as mere hearsay.

The Great Fire occurred before the signature and implementation of the Statute of Secrecy. Thus, it was not until years after the fact did the Wizards' Council (the magical governing body which represented Britain in signing the Statute of Secrecy) began the process of Obliviating and erasing references to magical influence in the Great Fire. The stress in the system caused by the large-scale works required to cover up the incident would eventually cause the Wizards' Council's dissolution and the formation of the more structured Ministry of Magic in 1707.

Attempts have been made to weaponize Obscuri, and as such, much information regarding Obscuri and Obscurials has been classified by the Department of Mysteries. Furthermore, being involved in the formation of a Obscurus is a major crime, punishable by upwards of fifty years in Azkaban. Due to moral and legal issues, little research regarding Obscuri and Obscurials has been published. It is, however, held to be true that an otherwise minor mundane calamity may be severely exacerbated by the presence of a single Obscurus to the extent that maintaining the Statute of Secrecy may become impractical in the fallout of the disaster, and that Obscurus-related disasters need not be sparked by a mundane calamity.

Due to the dangerous nature of uncontrolled magic, and the extreme disasters that may result from suppressed magic, it is now required by law that all magical children learn how to control and safely use their magic. 

**Author's Note:**

> Conclusion:  
> Accidental magic can be, as shown, causes of extreme disasters. However, the rapid spread of the fire was in part due to an Obscurus, the formation of which in modern days is nearly unheard of (see intelligence recovered from MACUSA detailing the actions of the Dark Lord Grindelwald in regards to the Obscurial Credence Barebone in December 1926). Thus I believe that the legal requirement for all magical persons to be trained in the control and utilization of magic to be reasonable in the times and circumstances in which the law was passed, but is no longer a valid concern.


End file.
